Degree Apprentice Software Engineer Review

As a final year apprentice, I attend university (at UCLan) 2 days per week, and work in my placement 3 days per week. University days consist of attending lectures and seminars, working on assignments in the evenings. Placement work varies depending on the team you're in, currently I complete software changes and work on my final year project.

I've learnt a number of new programming languages e.g. C, C#, C++, Java and Ada. I've also learnt about the software development lifecycle, including agile methodologies, gaining hands on experience in the design, development and maintenance of software. I've also learnt some leadership skills, with a few opportunities to provide work to other apprentices and assist in their development.

There have been a number of issues with UCLan over the 4 years of my course, although I still enjoy most of the content and action has been taken in attempt to correct these issues. I generally enjoy my placement work, although some areas are more engaging than others (granted this depends on your preferences).

The placement system is well structured, sometimes to its detriment in my opinion, as little room is left for trying out placements/teams that are not on your placement schedule, which is decided at the beginning of the course without taking into account what you might want to work on. UCLan is generally disorganised, sometimes resulting in missing sessions on the timetable.

I receive lots of support from early careers and my placement. Extra time is available for university work if it's a particularly busy period, and my manager and other team members frequently check up on me to see how I'm progressing, and whether or not I need assistance.

This varies wildly depending on the lecturer/module lead. Some lecturers will stay up into the early hours to help you if you're struggling with content/assignments, others will completely blank your emails/messages and provide no help whatsoever, which can be really frustrating. The upper management at UCLan also seem uninterested in our feedback, and have made little to no effort to correct most issues, with the one exception of pushing back an assignment deadline when the lecturer left the university.

This varies from module to module, some are extremely relevant and helpful, particularly the programming heavy modules, lifecycle management and development concepts. Others aren't as helpful in my role, and provide little to no value to my placement work. Overall, I think the degree is helpful, but you will usually learn more in the workplace.

There are some early careers sports clubs and events, such as tours of different sites. Some events seem to not be offered to Software Engineering apprentices as much as they are to other early careers members, particularly overseas/inter company opportunities, which rarely come along on the Software apprenticeship compared to other schemes.

Yes

There are lots of knowledgeable engineers across many different functions, and almost everyone is willing to help apprentices learn more. Due to the size of the company, there will almost definitely be an area you are interested in, but it's important to network and communicate with as many people as you can, as these opportunities aren't always advertised.

Research as much as you can about the company, its current projects and future planned work, particularly Tempest, Dreadnought, FalconWorks and the future of Typhoon. Learn about the software engineering lifecycle, both agile and waterfall (which is still in use in many areas), and try to get a basic knowledge of programming concepts, such as common problems you may be asked about at interview (e.g. sorting algorithms). Do not neglect the importance of soft skills, team working and effective collaboration are often what set candidates apart and will serve you well if you're successful.